During an arthroplasty procedure, corresponding bones of a joint are preferably aligned, a bone or other bones of the joint are resected as needed, and an implant is coupled to the resected bone. Before implantation of the implant into the bone, adequate preparation of a surface on the bone or bones of the joint to receive the implant is necessary. Preparation may be difficult because access to the bones can be limited by the size of the opening to the surgical site. Other reasons for difficulty include establishing alignment of the implant against a bone surface as well as the alignment of implant screw or peg locations in the resected bone. Alignment may be difficult in joints having little bone into which an implant can be placed. These challenges may be compounded by the limitations in the technique used, i.e., limited space for accessing the surgical site with a guide to resect or prepare the bone or bones of the joint.
Conventional techniques require the identification of particular tools suitable for the placement of an implant whether it be off-the-shelf or a patient-specific implant. In the context of shoulder arthroplasty procedures, centering guides may be used to drill center holes in the glenoid. Thus, such procedures are limited in that final preparation of the glenoid surface requires placement of a peg in the center of the glenoid prior to reaming. In many conventional approaches, multiple centering guides are used to complete the process of preparing the glenoid surface for implant placement. In some of those procedures and in others, the trial or implant is placed onto the glenoid surface using tongs or other instruments that grip the surface trial from its outer perimeter or from a surface facing the glenoid. In this way, when the trial or implant is placed on the glenoid surface, it is not seated flush with the bone.
Existing conventional systems and methods do not contemplate the use of a single centering guide to complete glenoid surface preparation, and many existing systems also fail to improve upon techniques to assist in the identification of center locations for the implant along with screw or peg locations. Thus, a need exists for improved glenoid centering guide systems and methods that streamline and improve the process of preparing the glenoid for the placement of an implant.